E3 2013: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Gameplay Preview

When CD Projekt RED promised the epic conclusion to The Witcher series, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, was going to be the biggest installment of the game we've seen, they failed to do it justice. "Bigger" doesn't quite encompass what our extended, pre-alpha behind-closed-doors gameplay demo showed off. The Witcher 3 was, without question, my game of show and I'll be happy to tell you why.

The game picks up years after the events of The Witcher 2, with an older, more grizzled Geralt. This go around, rather than meddling in petty global politics, a very real supernatural threat has emerged called the Wild Hunt. These evil creatures travel the land, slaughtering without prejudice, and they appear to have an unknown connection to Geralt. Naturally, there is more to the story and CD Projekt RED is promising multiple storylines and side quests. How many? Well, let's just say they're boasting "over 100 hours of non-linear gameplay." I'll let that sink in for a second.

In the gameplay demo we watched, Geralt starts out looking for a witness to the Wild Hunt, and once inside a village, he overhears an argument between the village's elders and the younger generation about a monster. Naturally, it's the type of irresistible sidequest we can't pass up and we decide to investigate. We are presented with two sides of an argument: The elders believe the monster in the woods which is killing villagers merely needs to be appeased by returning the old ways; whereas the younger generation just wants the monster killed. We chose to side with the latter because it seemed like the "good" path to choose. (Silly us, things are never so black and white in Geralt's world)

This introduced us to the first of new additions which is a Witcher sense. Similar to Batman's detective vision, Witcher sense allows Geralt to see supernatural elements in the everyday world. In this case, we were hunting a deadly Leshen, looking for his totems which give him a power. We then set out to kill the Leshen, which was surprisingly resourceful.

The combat in Witcher 3 already looks improved upon from the last game, with a more natural, fluid look to it. According to the developers, Geralt will now have 96 action sequences, as compared to a mere 20 in Witcher 2. Also, The Witcher 3 is boasting no quick-time-events or scripted attacks, meaning it'll be up to you to fight Geralt's battles -- no "press X to Geralt" here.

Once we slayed the Leshen, we returned to the village to find a grisly sight. Our decision to help the younger generation of the town resulted in an unforeseen massacre, which, as a flashback title card later informed us, resulted in yet another massacre later. One of the greatest mechanics in The Witcher series has always been the decidedly gray morality within the game. Often times players are confronted with making a difficult, seemingly "bad" choice for the greater good. It's a concept we so very rarely see appropriately executed (e.g. "Do you help the orphans escape the burning building, or do you nail the doors shut?").

Additionally, choices made within the game will have further reaching consequences. One of the most intriguing examples comes from press material which says, "kill a merchant in one town and see his trading partners in another go bankrupt for lack of of goods." They're also cautioning that certain decisions may have more long reaching effects, meaning much deeper in the storyline, a decision made an hour into the game may come back to haunt you. This is the stuff that makes me downright giddy.

Let's talk about the open world. First, the game is also promising more than 80 unique monster types which will not scale, encouraging both reserved and free roaming of the massive world. One area may be too strong for you in the beginning of the game, but later will provide a lesser challenge. If that doesn't encourage your exploration, perhaps the concept of no load times will intrigue you? The world won't have distinct "zones," meaning players will be free to run through cities straight into the world, going where ever your spirit of adventure leads you.

Even in pre-alpha, the game already looks gorgeous. The REDengine 3 will provide detailed day-night cycles and equally detailed weather. At one point in our demo, the developer stopped on a hill where we were able to watch the clouds moving across the sky, and the change in the world as night slowly approached. It's eye candy in the best of ways.

One of the things I adore about CD Projekt RED, other than the fact that they have some of the finest RPG craftsmanship, is that they seem comfortable having a "niche" product. The Witcher series is a mature RPG both in its story and setting, but also in its highly complex and detailed gameplay. Sure, they're streamlining the combat and attempting to make the alchemy system more straightforward (alchemy in The Witcher 1 is notoriously complex), but by in large, The Witcher 3 seems set to please and satisfy loyal fans of the franchise. Never did I hear the phrase "appealing to a wider audience," nor "making it more accessible." The games are highly regarded by RPG connoisseurs, and for good reason. They're not for everyone, but for those who like a challenge coupled with amazing story and characters, CD Projekt RED is your huckleberry.